Day of Peace In the Streets Of Jerusalem

By CLYDE HABERMAN,

Published: April 10, 1993

JERUSALEM, April 9—
There was no excitement in Jerusalem today.

Unless, of course, one counts the thousands of Christian pilgrims from around the world who walked the Via Dolorosa on this Good Friday, some carrying large wooden crosses and all following the route that Jesus is believed to have taken to His Crucifixion.

Or the many hundreds of Jews who at the same time a few hundred yards away went to the Western Wall for Passover prayers. Or the Muslims who, also at the same moment, attended Friday prayers at Al Aksa Mosque on the elevated plateau above the wall known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif, the Noble Sanctuary in Arabic, and to Jews as the Temple Mount. Day of Harmony

Interlocked along the stone lanes of the Old City, worshipers of the three faiths passed this holy day in harmony, respecting one another's rites and not shoving more than was absolutely necessary to negotiate narrow streets that in certain spots were packed wall to wall with people.

No, there was no excitement today, at least not the usual variety, which all too often is defined here as somebody getting stabbed or shot, or Arabs and Jews yelling at one another and Orthodox and secular Jews doing much the same. If anybody was seriously hurt, the fact went undetected.

Despite an unusual burst of nasty violence that has rocked Jerusalem and all of Israel in recent weeks, travelers have been undeterred, pouring in by the bucketsful.

With Passover and Easter falling in the same week, hotels rooms are only slightly less scarce than miracles. The Ministry of Tourism says 80,000 visitors are expected in Israel this holiday season, an increase of more than 10 percent from 1992, which itself saw a huge leap from the previous year, when tourism had collapsed under the twin blows of the Persian Gulf war and the Palestinian uprising. Visitors are about evenly divided between Christians and Jews, the Government says.

And as foreigners flock in, tens of thousands of Israelis have headed for the exits in search of a respite from relentless tension. It has become customary over the last 14 years of peace with Cairo for many descendants of the ancient Israelites to celebrate the Exodus from Egypt by returning there. Government officials estimate that as many as 30,000 people will spend part of Passover crossing into Sinai and vacationing there.

Those who stayed home enjoyed a country that has calmed down considerably as the result of a 10-day-old Government ban on entry into Israel by Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza Strip. While the restrictions have begun to cause economic hardships in the territories, they are popular among Israelis because, for now, they have restored quiet to a country that had become fearful after a blood-stained March.

"The public," a senior official said, "is satisfied with the fact that they don't see Palestinians on the streets anymore." Image of Strife

City officials are also satisfied for the moment, although they have long argued that Jerusalem suffers unfairly from a popular image as a warren of strife, which while accurate in many respects is sometimes exaggerated.

Certainly, it is difficult to dispute Mayor Teddy Kollek's claim that Jerusalem is a safer place than many. In 1992 there were 15 murders in this city of more than half a million people; the year before, there were also 15. At that rate, if Jerusalem had New York City's 7 million residents, it would have 210 murders a year. The New York figure in 1992 was about 2,200.

Crime and safety seem unlikely campaign issues this fall when Mr. Kollek, 82 years old and in office since 1965, may once more run for re-election. Among his challengers are former Health Minister Ehud Olmert, a Likud Party leader who announced his candidacy this week and told a newspaper interviewer that he will focus on education, economic development and transportation -- all serious problems, but hardly ones that make Jerusalem unique.

Still, this remains a city of special turmoil, divided physically by walls and roads and spiritually by religion and nationalism.

The schisms were apparent even as voices were lifted today in prayer.

Christian pilgrims stopping at the stations of the cross along Jesus's route passed many Old City shops that were shuttered, observing a Palestinian strike that is called on the ninth of each month to mark the start of the anti-Israeli uprising on Dec. 9, 1987.

Their numbers included several hundred Christians from Bethlehem and other West Bank towns who were given permission by the army to enter Jerusalem for the day, despite the closing. But it is not clear if this dispensation will be extended in coming days to thousands of Greek Orthodox believers, who are the largest group among the estimated 65,000 Christians in the territories and who will celebrate Holy Week next week.

In his Easter message, Michel Sabbah, the Roman Catholic Patriarch of Jerusalem, mentioned this problem while also warning Israelis and Palestinians alike that the violence of recent weeks has gone hand in hand with dying hope for Middle East peace efforts.

"It is time," the Patriarch said, "to become convinced despite all prejudices and defamations, nourished by a century of conflict, that the other is not created in the image of God to be the enemy, but the friend and the brother."

Photo: Worshipers entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem in a Good Friday procession. (Associated Press)